XXIV. Silver Arrow

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Ray and Elaine were both stubborn and hardly ever want to admit the wrong in their thinking. That was why they get into argument with each other often: both had different mindset but were equally stubborn in their respective opinion and unwilling to submit. So, when they agreed on something together, Dunnford could do little to nothing. The bright side was that itt was good that they were working together. However, Dunnford had no power to change their mind.

'You are both out of your minds!' Was-- something Dunnford wanted to say... as if he could say that to them. They were both marching to Skulls' base entrance boldly and Dunnford had no choice but to follow from behind.

To the veteran knight's opinion, launching on a full frontal attack was just rash. It wasn't something anyone would do in most cases. There were however a few exceptions when a frontal attack were favorable, like if they were having an advantage in both number and information perhaps. However, the truth was that Ray and Elaine hardly knew their enemies and were clearly lacking in number. A frontal attack wasn't to their advantage!

Usually, in normal situation, they should've made advantage of their lack in number to launch a sneak attack from the inside. Small number group excel in stealth due to their lack of presence and that should be a better plan. To sneak in, to get into a good position and launch an attack from the inside, taking advantage of the confusion and using the element of surprise. Also, if they were to sneak in first, they could gather even more important information. In an era where Special Magic exist, one could never be too careful. Alas, Elaine and Ray didn't seem to care. In fact, they were already talking to 1 of the 2 bandit guards.

'Tom,' Ray ordered, 'do your job and warn your friends of attackers.'

'Listen,' the guy stood up and grabbed his spear which was leaning on the table beside him. He fixed the position of his iron cap to appear more threatening. 'My name's not Tom. Who are you even? Don't you know who we are? We are the bandit group called Skulls! Before this get serious, you better turn back!'

Ray shook his head. Dunnford missed his last chance to try to convince his master from doing a frontal attack. 'Tom,' Ray said with a tone of disappointment, 'you have one job: to warn your friends of attackers, yet you're failing horribly.'

'Now, liste--'

Before the guy was able to finish, he was blown away by a ferocious sudden gust of wind and had his back on the wall. So strong was the wind, that the wall behind him started to crack. The smooth cement wall was defiled by crack, which increased in number slowly and surely. Until, the wall finally broke because of the sheer force of the wind.

Dunnford and Ray both looked at Elaine, who was pointing her wand at Tom. 'What? I simply helped him with his job.'

She's gone and done it, Dunnford thought. Speaking of which, how much alcohol did this man drink? The other bandit guard was still sleeping and snoring despite the huge disturbance Elaine just caused.

Ray entered the building nonchalantly through the wall Elaine broke. As he entered with his left hand on his sword hilt, he was greeted by many sinister pair of eyes. Eyes that were telling him that they would kill him for what he had done to the building and for being stupid enough to attack them. Ray ignored them unconsciously as he was seeking for an Extinct Formulae Magic user within the crowd of people inside. He looked left to right and didn't spot anyone who had full-body tattoo. Letdown, he clicked his tongue.

Elaine too entered the building, looking for the Extinct Formulae Magic user who had given her an embarrassment the previous night. Being able to only spot common bandits, she sighed in disappointment. Still, she got another aim: to reclaim the books. Thus, she couldn't skip the assault.

Dunnford, the veteran knight who had won against an Extinct Magic Formulae user, got a different perspective on the matter. When he entered the building and compared their number, he knew that they were at a disadvantage due to the sheer difference in number. There were about 80 bandits there approximately; and Dunnford didn't like that number in comparison to his group of 3 people. Not to mention, he did his research and had been looking at wanted posters in guilds. It was to his surprise that he could recognize most of the bandit's faces. Things weren't looking bright.

The knight looked to his master and Elaine. At least, he thought, I got a reliable teammate. He pulled out his sword and was ready for battle. And it's not like we're going to lose either.

'ATTACK!!' One of the bandit shouted. They all lunged forward to attack Ray, Dunnford, and Elaine.

'... Each of them can't all be as strong as Freya right?' Ray asked, his hand on his sword's grip, ready to pull out his sword.

'Freya work wonders,' Elaine replied, placing her wand in front of her, ready to unleash magic.

That's a point all three of us can agree on, Dunnford thought.

***

Reina, the fairy, happened to be there inside the bandit base where Silver Arrow decided to attack. As Freya had requested, she was there to spy Skulls to try and find weaknesses. However, it seemed that lady fortune wasn't on her side, as the base she had picked was in chaos as soon as the Silver Arrow appeared. Hiding in a safe position, Reina observed the battle from a distance where no harm could reach her.

The man with short ruffled hair must be Ray, Reina thought. She remembered Freya's description of her crew. He wore leather gear for protection and was being the vanguard of the group. Diving in first to the wave of bandits, his sword slashed like whirlwind. Although Ray's movement seemed hindered, he was fast and nimble on his own even without support. Being in front, he shifted the bandits' attention towards him and immobilized the people who attacked him without killing them.

The man behind him who was wearing iron armor and had black trimmed hair must be Dunnford. He handled the enemies who decided to ignore Ray in the front line. Dunnford was like an impenetrable fortress, not budging against the most brunt of attacks and receiving them head on. Miraculously, although there was an attack from a spiked clubs which directly hit his forehead, he was unharmed and unfazed. He treated the attack as if it was nothing and held his ground. His sword play was in harmony with his wind magic, a magnificent performance.

The woman with long blue hair, the wizard, must be Elaine. She was at the back line, free from enemies and was using magic spells without any trouble. Dunnford was the best shield she could get and no one interrupted her magic. Standing in the backline, she used support magic to make enemy movements slower and their attacks weaker. She did the opposite to her own team by making Dunnford and Ray faster and stronger with her enhancement magic. Often times, she would also unleash lightning zaps from thin air. From the presence of her mana, Reina could tell that Elaine wasn't going all out with her magic.

Reina was mesmerized by what she saw. At first she saw a hopeless situation where 3 people were rash enough to face the might of around 80 men. However, the fight had proven to be one-sided in the 3 people's favor from the start of battle. Inside her mind, she thought that maybe Vath could be beaten after all. That maybe such a horrible man would meet his demise facing such crew. That hope was alive for the fairies.

Ray was like an arrowhead, piercing through enemies in his way. Dunnford was like an indestructible shaft which kept everything together. While, Elaine was like the force which flung the arrow. Together they were swift, unwavering, and strikes sharp on target. Silver Arrow was truly a fitting name for them.

It made Reina wonder on whether or not Freya thought the group's name that thoroughly.

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